George Pickens Deletes All Steelers Posts; Writes ‘Free Me’ On Social Media; Mike Tomlin Responds

Update:

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked about George Pickens’ recent social media activity which includes posting “Free Me”, and unfollowing QB Kenny Pickens, the Steelers team and Tomlin on Instagram.

Tomlin said: “It is a pebble in my shoe.”

“I know it’s a cute story for you guys, but it is a pebble in my shoe, to be quite honest with you, in terms of the things that I have to do in an effort to get this group ready to play this week. Our focus is on the Green Bay Packers and what we’re all going to do in this football game, and I can’t state it any plainer than that. It’s like reality television, the way you guys follow social media and write stories about it.”

Original Story:

Steelers wide receiver George Pickens seems to be venting his frustration on social media regarding his role within the team’s offense.

On Friday, Pickens posted a message on his Instagram story, stating, “Free me.” This comes after a win against the Titans where he only managed to catch two passes for -1 yards, which followed a 1-catch game in a loss to the Jaguars the previous week.

During the Titans game, he missed an opportunity to score a touchdown when he failed to get his foot in the endzone after getting open and catching the ball.

Pickens’ social media antics didn’t stop at the “Free Me.” post, which he quickly deleted. He also deleted several other posts, related to the Steelers, from his account.

Notably, Pickens apparently also unfollowed everyone associated with the Steelers, including quarterback Kenny Pickett, coach Mike Tomlin, and the team’s official Instagram account. He even swapped his profile picture to one from his high school days, removing any reference to the Steelers.

Pickens caught 30 passes for 521 yards and three touchdowns this season but he had higher expectations to take the next step coming into the season. The problem is his quarterback Kenny Pickett throws for less than 250 yards in a game more often than not so it’s harder to get the receivers a lot of yards.

We’ll see if things calm down going forward.